Product Description

A universal charger that will charge any size NiMH battery. RAYOVAC® Rechargeable Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries are a perfect power solution for demanding high-drain devices like digital cameras. They last up to 4 times longer than alkaline batteries in digital cameras and can be recharged up to 1000 times! Recharges all 3 rechargeable battery types! Rechargeable Alkaline, Nickel Cadmium, and Nickel Metal Hydride. Sizes AA, AAA, C and D. Rayovac's exclusive MicroChip Technology charges each battery individually for Maximum Performance! Batteries charge overnight. Red LED indicates charging, once charged the Red LED goes out. No memory problem. Can be recharged anytime. Non-toxic to dispose. Best choice for high-tech devices.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9925 in Health and Beauty
• Brand: Rayovac
• Model: PS3
• Released on: 2005-04-07
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 2.50" h x 4.25" w x 13.00" l, 2.37 pounds

Features

• Universal charger recharges AA, AAA, C, D, and 9-volt NiMH batteries
• Perfect for use in high battery usage households
• Capable of recharging batteries over 1000 times
• NiMH rechargeable batteries last longer than alkaline batteries
• Recharger can save thousands of dollars in alkaline battery costs

Amazon.com Product Description
The Rayovac PS3 Rechargeable Battery Universal Charger will charge any size NiMH battery. This device will recharge up to eight AA or AAA batteries; four C or D batteries; or even a single 9-Volt battery. The PS3 is perfect for high battery usage households, and it is capable of recharging batteries over 1000 times. If your family or business burns through piles of regular alkaline batteries, grab yourself a stack of NiMH rechargeables and the Rayovac PS3, and start saving money.

Why Rechargeables
Today's high-drain, electronic devices demand rechargeable NiMH batteries. NiMH batteries actually last longer than alkaline batteries in most high-tech devices and they can generally be recharged up to 500 times. This high-volume rechargeability results in cost-savings that can add up to thousands of dollars. Plus, with Rayovac NiMH batteries, there are no "memory" problems -- recharge your Rayovac batteries any time, even if they are only partially drained.

Usage Tips

• Always charge NiMH batteries before first use
• For maximum performance, charge batteries prior to using if stored for more than one month
• NiMH rechargeable batteries are available in AA, AAA, C, D, and 9-volt sizes
• NiMH batteries can be disposed of with regular trash -- NiMH is safe for the environment

Customer Reviews

The Best Charger I've Found
I've been using rechargeable batteries for a while and the more batteries you buy the more important a good charger becomes. The Rayovac PS3 is the best I've used for two reasons. First, it holds up to eight batteries at a time. That's pretty uncommon and when you discover that your digital camera, Xbox360 controllers, kid's toys, TV/VCR/DVD/Tivo remotes all use double or triple A batteries, you don't want to be stuck charging four at a time. Second and equally as important, it has trickle charge. Most don't. Sure, you can get a quick charger but these new Nimhs last weeks or months between charges and by the time you need the batteries in the quick charger, they've drained down.

I currently have about 50 NiMh batteries in use around the house (the Geotrax uses 21 triple A and two or three C alone) and if there is a better charger out there, I'd really like to know.

BTW: I've found the Rayovac NiMhs to be better than the Energizer ones and the Energizer 9Vs are awful FWIW.

Bulky, heavy, but surprisingly smart and versatile
I already have at least half a dozen smart chargers in the house, including top-of-the-line models such as the La Crosse BC-900 and Maha C9000, but I still wanted this Rayovac Universal Battery Charger (PS3) for the following reasons:

1. It can accept C, D, and 9V batteries in additional to the standard AA and AAA cells.
2. It can handle rechargeable alkaline cells in addition to the standard NiMH or NiCd cells.
3. It has the potential to recharge up to 8 AA or AAA cells at once.

So far, I'm very satisfied with this charger. Of course it is bulky and heavy. But that's to be expected for an unit that can accept four D-cells at the same time. For home use the size and weight is not an issue at all.

I'm happy to report that this charger is a lot smarter than I previously imagined. Unlike a typical dumb charger in this price range (for example: the Energizer CHFCV Overnight Family Charger), the PS3 has four independent charging channels. That means I am free to charge different cell in any channel. Each channel comes with a status indicator LED, which goes out once the cell is fully charged. But most of all, this charger is smart enough to recognize the difference between NiMH cells and alkaline cell, and can pick the correct charging method accordingly.

When an unknown cell is inserted into the PS3, the charger first starts off with a trickle current (800mA peak current at 10% duty cycle, or an average current of 80mA). Based on the voltage profile of this cell, the PS3 can determine whether this is an alkaline cell, or a NiMH cell. After two minutes, the duty cycle is increased to 60%, so the average current is now around 480mA. For a NiMH cell, charging will continue until a negative dV/dt is detected, in which case it switches back to trickle current again. But for an alkaline cell, charging current will gradually decrease with higher terminal voltage until it reached 1.65V.

The Rayovac PS3 is designed to recharge the Rayovac 'Renewal' brand of rechargeable alkaline cells (which are now discontinued). The user manual warned against charging ordinary disposable alkaline cells, but I experimented with it anyway. So far, I have observed very good results with recharging Duracell alkaline AA cells [see warning below]. Of course, the capacity of a recharged alkaline cell is lower than that of a fresh cell, and it drops with each subsequent cycle. But since I can squeeze another half a dozen cycles out of an exhausted alkaline cell at no additional cost, I really should not complain.

Back to the charger itself, I do have a complaint about its claim of "recharge up to 8 AA or AAA batteries". It turns out that each of the four charging channels can accept one to two AA or AAA cells, but the two cells are electrically connected in parallel. So in case somebody accidentally placed two cells of different battery chemistries (NiCd, NiMH, or alkaline) in the same channel, the one with lower voltage will discharge the other one. The charger may also get confused and fail to terminate correctly in such case. It is safer and faster to charge only one AA or AAA cells in each channel.

[WARNINGS:]
1. Do NOT try to recharge alkaline cells that are completely exhausted (terminal voltage below 1V). It will not work.

2. Do NOT try to recharge Energizer alkaline cells. Four Energizer AA cells I tested completely dropped dead after just two discharge/charge cycles. Two D-cells started leaking electrolyte a few days after charging. Luckily they were left outside and not being used.

[Update on Jan 26, 2009]
Out of maybe one dozen Duracell AA alkaline cells I have recharged, two started leaking electrolyte a few weeks later. I must now officially advise AGAINST recharging disposable alkaline cells: do it at your own risk!

Perfect if you don't need speed.
The only fault I can find with this charger is that is not as fast as some of the others out there. But as far as I was able to find, this is the only charger that can recharge all the major types of batteries (AA, AAA, C, D, and 9V). You can even charge different size batteries at the same time, as long as they are in separate compartments. The flexibility of this charger is what makes it worthwhile.
If you just keep some extra batteries on-hand, you can always have some charged and ready. Another good thing is that you can leave them in the charger without any ill effect on the batteries.